OBJECTIVES: To review the literature on the concurrent use of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and anticonvulsant drugs (AC) and to provide recommendations to guide clinical practice. METHODS: A MEDLINE search (1985-2006) was performed, using the terms "electroconvulsive therapy," "anticonvulsants," "epilepsy," "carbamazepine," "gabapentin," "lamotrigine," "topiramate," and "valproate," supplemented by manual searches of ...

Hypothalamic hamartomas (HH) are rare congenital lesions of the tuber cinereum presenting with the classic triad of gelastic epilepsy, central precocious puberty (CPP) and developmental delay. In light of the important and diverse consequences of precocious puberty for affected children and their families, a correct diagnosis without delay is imperative. ...

We report a patient diagnosed as having subacute encephalopathy with frequent seizures in alcoholics (SESA syndrome), in which recurrent, non-convulsive seizures of frontal origin contributed significantly to the alteration of the mental state. Our case suggests that the occurrence of episodes of complex partial status epilepticus (CPSE) may contribute greatly ...

The term "migralepsy" indicates a particular condition in which seizures occur during a migraine attack. Several cases of seizures associated with migraine with aura and characterized by transient MRI abnormalities have been published. We report the case of a patient who presented 2 generalized seizures during an attack of migraine ...

We present 2 cases of late postpartum eclampsia in adolescents presenting to the pediatric emergency department, neither of whom had any antepartum symptoms of preeclampsia. The purpose of this report is to discuss the importance of a high index of suspicion for preeclampsia in the postpartum adolescent who complains of ...

Whereas pathological seizure states, such as temporal lobe epilepsy, are commonly associated with cell loss and glial scarring in the hippocampus, seizures induced via electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) have not been associated with histological evidence of neuronal damage. We present a case report including the late-life medical history and postmortem histology ...

Episodic hemipareis is usually thought to have a vascular etiology. Ictal paresis during seizures usually occurs with other clinical signs. The exact mechanism by which weakness occurs during seizures is difficult to determine as positive and negative motor phenomenona occur in rapid succession. This case describes a girl with episodic ...

Nonconvulsive status epilepticus may present with several manifestations, and many of them may not be obvious. The most important for the diagnosis of nonconvulsive status epilepticus is the electroencephalogram pattern. This is a case report of a 9-year-old boy with severe and continuous headache. He received chemotherapy for histiocytosis that ...

Although fever may induce seizures, especially in children, its occurrence following epileptic spells has been rarely described, except from generalized convulsive status epilepticus. We present two patients suffering from focal seizures accompanied by episodes of post-ictal fever, and review similar reports in the literature of the last 40 years. Temperature ...

We report a case of intentional overdose in a 29-year-old male with two of the newer anti-epileptic agents, lamotrigine and pregabalin. To our knowledge, this case report details the highest plasma levels of lamotrigine ever recorded in the literature. The patient presented with seizures and a reduced level of consciousness. ...

The management of patients with epilepsy in rural areas is often hampered by the lack of diagnostic facilities and neuro-radiologists. There are many congenital abnormalities which can present with seizures only, or in combination with other neurological symptoms. This case report examines the occurrence of the rare brain abnormality schizencephaly ...

The authors report the successful use of radiosurgery in a child for posterior corpus callosotomy; the early results are good and the patient has not suffered any morbid conditions. The relevant literature pertaining to the use of radiosurgery for treating epilepsy is reviewed. Details of the radiosurgical techniques and prescription ...

In a forensic setting, deaths due to seizures, either epileptic or other, present a well-known problem. Cause of death is rarely established on the basis of physical evidence, but on circumstantial evidence such as tongue biting or discharge of urine or faeces. Seizures have several different aetiologies, but in police ...

Energy drinks contain a mixture of compounds, of which caffeine, guarana, and herbal supplements such as ginkgo and ginseng are major components. Survey of popular literature reveals anecdotal observations of adverse events associated with consumption of energy drinks. However, there are no reported cases in the published literature. We report ...

A case of asystolic collapse and subsequent progression to apnoea as a presenting feature of cerebral glioma is presented. The pathophysiological mechanism is likely to have been a focal seizure within subcortical regions affecting autonomic function. This example and others in the literature illustrate that severe and life-threatening cardiorespiratory manifestations ...

INTRODUCTION: Visually evoked seizures have been reported for almost 2,000 years. This source of seizure activity, however, seems to have increased recently with the advent of new technologies used for television and computer games. METHODS: The present paper reviews the literature regarding this interesting phenomenon. RESULTS: After our review, it ...

We present the case of a boy with tuberous sclerosis who was referred for evaluation and treatment of his intractable epileptic seizures, having failed multiple anti-epileptic drug trials. He was subsequently treated with Levetiracetam that was gradually titrated to an effective dose, achieving full suppression of his seizures. Thereafter, his ...

The main categories of nonconvulsive status epilepticus are: complex partial and absence status. Absence status was reported to occur de novo in later life as a situation-related, single event. We report four cases of absence status with presentation after the age of 60 years. At admission, no history of epilepsy ...

This case report describes the clinical evolution of a symptomatic epileptic encephalopathy with bilateral continuous spike-waves during slow wave sleep (BCSWS) in a 3-year-old girl. Her epilepsy with focal motor seizures during sleep was later complicated by myoclonic, atonic and clonic seizures culminating in BCSWS. The clinical picture, clinical course ...

Although more data are needed, animal studies and clinical experience suggest that marijuana or its active constituents may have a place in the treatment of partial epilepsy. Here we present the case of a 45-year-old man with cerebral palsy and epilepsy who showed marked improvement with the use of marijuana. ...

A case report of seizure due to photic stimulation from sunlight shining through spinning helicopter rotor blades is discussed. A review of photosensitive epilepsy is provided with particular emphasis on the effects and frequencies of photic stimulation required to induce symptoms. The frequencies of flashing light produced by spinning helicopter ...

[2,3]Sigmatropic rearrangements of propargyl sulfonium ylides along with recent advances in the correspondingsulfenate-sulfoxide and sulfinate-sulfone type rearrangements are reviewed. Some new additionalexamples of these types of transformations, including rearrangements of propargylic dialkoxy disulfidesare also surveyed.

Turner's syndrome (TS), resulting from deletion of one X chromosome in women, is associated with cerebral development abnormalities, particularly in the temporal lobes. Symptomatic epilepsy is described only in cases with extensive malformations. Here, we report the first case of bilateral temporal epilepsy without macroscopic cerebral malformation in a woman ...

We describe the neurological manifestations of 119 patients with WD (93 index cases and 26 affected family members) seen between 1963 and 2004. The mean age at symptoms onset was 19.6 years (range, 7-37 years). Medical records were reviewed for the patient's first neurological examination. The most frequent neurological manifestations ...

OBJECTIVE: To report complete change of seizure and spike lateralization over time in bilateral temporal lobe epilepsies (TLE). METHODS: Repetition of video-EEG monitorings in 115 patients; 2 cases are reported in detail; 113 other severe partial epilepsies were included to estimate retrospectively the frequency of the reported phenomenon. RESULTS: In ...

We report the case of a 49-year-old right-handed woman with brief partial seizures in which the clinical semiology was marked by an early humming automatism. MRI fusion of the registered ictal and interictal single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) substraction exhibited a left neural network involving lateral temporal, inferior frontal, and ...

OBJECTIVE: To present and discuss a case of a woman who for many years was presumed to have nonepileptic seizures (NES), but proved to actually have both electrical and non-electrical seizures, the latter occurring in a close temporal association with the former. To also discuss the seimiology her true as ...

The aim of the report is to present a case of an autonomic headache associated with autonomic seizures. A 19-year-old male who had had complex partial seizures for 15 years was admitted with autonomic complaints and left hemicranial headache, independent from seizures, that he had had for 2 years and ...

Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) can show variations in its clinical course. Typical initial symptoms consist of intellectual decline, deterioration in school performance, and myoclonic jerks. Atypical forms of presentation such as generalized seizures and acute or subacute coma can be observed rarely. This report describes a 5-year-old boy with an ...

We report the case of a 32-month-old female patient presenting with cerebellar pilocytic astrocytoma with epileptic seizures, psychomotor delay, and severe language delay. Usually, the typical onset of cerebellar tumor is characterized by raised intracranial pressure and cerebellar incoordination. A review of the few cases reported in the literature evidencing ...

Distinguishing epilepsy from syncope often can be challenging. We report a case of a 20-year-old patient with presumed refractory epilepsy since the age of 3 years. Although the clinical suspicion of syncope was raised at the age of 9 years, key historic features were not identified, cardiac work-up was not ...

The presence of subependymal nodular heterotopia and cortical dysgenesis has been infrequently reported in patients with encephalocele. The majority of these patients were found to have posterior encephaloceles. We report a case of a Hispanic female with a frontoethmoidal encephalocele who developed epilepsy at 15 years of age. Magnetic resonance ...

The MURCS association is a rare, nonrandom association of müllerian duct aplasia, renal aplasia and cervicothoracic somite dysplasia. The etiology is unknown. Although it is usually a sporadic disorder, familial cases with uterovaginal anomalies have been reported. Occasionally, it may be accompanied by abnormalities involving various other organs or systems. ...

Autoscopy is an experience of seeing oneself in external space, viewed from within one's own physical body. It is a complex psycho-sensorial hallucinatory perception of one's own body image projected into external visual space, with epilepsy one of the common disorders reported to be associated with the experience. A survey ...

We report the case of a male aged 2 years 6 months with left temporal lobe epilepsy who presented with ictal bradycardia syndrome leading to asystole. The clinical presentation was remarkable for the occurrence of clustering syncope. A seizure was recorded on a video electroencephalogram- electrocardiogram and analyzed. A cardiac ...

Hypoparathyroidism occurs due to insufficient production of parathyroid hormone to maintain extracellular calcium levels within the normal range. The acute clinical symptoms and signs of hypoparathyroidism are those of hypocalcaemia, ranging from tingling and numbness of limb extremities to intractable seizures. Often seizures are mistaken for epilepsy. Though hypoparathyroidism is ...

White matter lesions (WML) and epilepsy have been occasionally seen in Wilson's disease. No cases of generalized myoclonus have been reported so far. We present a patient with psychiatric symptoms starting at age 16, followed by tremor, generalized dystonia and severe generalized myoclonus. In addition to classical findings, the MRI ...

The prevalence and clinical characteristics of mesial temporal sclerosis have not been well studied in children. All brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) reports of children less than 14 years of age were reviewed from two tertiary institutions. A 52-month period from one institution and a 37-month period from the other ...

The coexistence of absence and rolandic epilepsy is extremely rare. This coexistence has been attributed to either the treatment or an atypical course of the disease. However, for some authors, this issue remains controversial. We report the case of a 9-year-old girl presenting with both absence seizures and focal seizures ...

BACKGROUND: It has been suggested that there exists a close relationship between seizure discharges and functional recovery from brain injury, and that paroxysmal bombardment in late seizures may herald functional recovery or may "kick-start" recovery. CASE REPORT: We report the case of a 52-year-old patient who, following a subarachnoid hemorrhage ...

AIM: To assess whether or not the parameters of fixed and randomized saccadic movements, of pendular tracking and of optokinetic nystagmus in the digital vectonystagmography may show abnormalities in patients with possible diagnosis of peripheral vestibular dysfunction. METHOD: 60 patients with dizziness of peripheral vestibular origin, from 12 to 82 ...

Postictal psychosis is a state of psychosis following repeated or prolonged complex partial seizures with or without secondary generalization and is well described in adult epilepsy literature. It is sparsely reported in the pediatric literature. This report describes a 12-year-old male presenting with status epilepticus who developed psychotic symptoms. Diagnosis ...

OBJECTIVE: This case report describes convulsions and hemiparesis after retrobulbar injection with good outcome in a patient undergoing outpatient cryocoagulation of his right eye. CASE REPORT: We report a young man in which localized convulsions of the ipsilateral face occurred 9 minutes after retrobulbar injection followed shortly by convulsions of ...

OBJECTIVE: The case report suggests the indispensability of preoperative accurate psychiatric checkups especially in temporal resections. METHOD: A single case was reported. RESULTS: We report the case of a 20-year-old woman suffering for 12 years from primary generalized epilepsy, attributed to left-sided hippocampal sclerosis. Because seizures were resistant to drug ...

Epileptic nystagmus (EN) is characterized by repetitive eye movements as a symptom of seizure activity. Two cases of EN are reported including ictal EEG, video recordings and MRI. In addition, we review the published cases and pathophysiological background of EN. The cardinal cortical region for EN is located at the ...

PURPOSE: Some enigmatic remarks and behaviors of Socrates have been a subject of debate among scholars. We investigated the possibility of underlying epilepsy in Socrates by analyzing pathographic evidence in ancient literature from the viewpoint of the current understanding of seizure semiology. METHODS: We performed a case study from a ...

Interhemispheric time difference (ITD) measured by electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetoencephalography (MEG) was compared to seizure outcome after callosotomy. Two patients with frequent drop attacks underwent simultaneous EEG and MEG before and after total callosotomy. ITDs in 30 bilateral synchronized (BS) discharges were calculated independently by EEG and MEG. As minimum ...